The Warfighter, the Storm, and the Moon

Chapter 28: Legendary

'Legendary'

21-Sep-2030, 1500T

LCDR Percy Jackson, US Navy, Son of Neptune

Legion XII

Yuma, Arizona, USA

"It's been a while, hasn't it? Haven't seen you since '24. Blackbeard was in a disarray for a time—guys left, guys died. Buck ended up writing a book—remember when he said he'd never do that shit? Thought it was the single biggest problem with NSW today—SEALs writin' books, givin' away a little too much info in the process. He wasn't necessarily against the book part, just the info part of it. But when Switchback ended, the sumbitch went and did it: called it Operation Switchback: the Secret Cleanup of Afghanistan, under the pen name 'Franklin Davis,' if you can believe that shit," I laughed, but with no response, dampening my mood after a few moments. "You woudla found it funny, I think."

LIEUTENANT COMMANDER GREGORY FRANKLIN LAWSON

HUSBAND, FATHER, BROTHER, SON

UNITED STATES NAVY SEAL

VALOR, HONOR, PERSEVERANCE

SEPTEMBER 21, 1984 - MARCH 22, 2024

Those were the words that adorned my former commander's gravestone, standing indomitably yet silently as I sat, two cans of cold beer at my side. It was the cemetery at a local church, where Greg wanted to be buried. As I stared at the slab of stone and words, I remembered the times I shared with the older man.

There was the time Greg flipped a metaphorical bird at a jackass one-star, giving the Army general a respectful dressing-down in front of USASOC's deputy commander—with the dumb general being disciplined by the commander of USASOC himself as a result. Long story short, I guess the one-star had a little too much time behind the desk—and appeared to have been there for most of his career—resulting in some stupid decision-making that nearly got four D-Boys, three SEALs, and an EOD operator killed.

There was the time when Greg bailed out some junior SEALs that were in jail for a bar fight—they kept their Tridents thanks to his words, but he taught them about the importance and ethos of that pin and the organization around it. He busted their asses personally before ensuring their platoon commander and chief did the same, effectively haunting them with threats and discipline. But his hard lesson turned the three idiots into a legendary trio at SEAL Team 8—earning them the moniker of the "Three Caballeros"—with the three still serving to this day.

There was the time when Scout was hospitalized for several weeks, his children left alone for a time, for their mother—Scout's ex-wife—had died from a car accident and the ex-spouses had no other family. Greg and Juanita—his wife—took care of the kids, treating them like their own. The Lawson family lived in a modest house, already snug with themselves and their daughter, but nonetheless opened their doors to the two children, helping maintain some level of normalcy and constantly reassure them that Scout wasn't going to die.

And who could forget when Greg—to some degree—fixed DEVGRU? For those that are confused, there once was a time that the Unit was outperforming the Command in terms of water-based operations (if I recall correctly, they divide up elements to cover different specialties like the UK's Special Air Service, only doing it on the team level rather than the troop level). Criticism and embarrassment arose, pushing us to be better. In 2023, while Blue Squadron was the Trident squadron (i.e., the one between deployments on standby, ready to respond to threats at a moment's notice, like the D-Boys' Aztec squadron), Greg, Preacher, and Buck ended up developing new techniques, tactics, and procedures for maritime operations.